When Logan Sullivan plays basketball, he can’t help but break out into a smile.
So it’s fitting that a smile adorned the senior’s face Monday night as he was recognized for reaching 1,000 career points, only the sixth player in school history to achieve that mark.
Sullivan was recognized with a custom basketball, shirt and cookie cake celebrating the achievement. He also has the most 3-pointers in school history with 176 over his high school career. Sullivan now has 1,047 points.
“It feels good,” Sullivan said of the recognition. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, though, obviously. I got to give recognition to them. It feels good, though.”
But Sullivan wasn’t the only one with a smile as he was recognized Monday night. And he said that was fitting because there were a lot of people who made it possible for him to get there.
Head coach Kyle Deterding was key to Sullivan’s growth as a player, he said. Deterding let Sullivan play varsity minutes as a freshman, something that Sullivan attributes to a lot of his success.
“I got to learn from a lot of older guys my freshman year,” Sullivan said. “There was a lot of seniors so I got to learn a lot from them.”
Deterding said there was a lot of time and effort behind the scenes that went into Sullivan’s success.
“He does a good job,” Deterding said of Sullivan. “He’s put a lot of time in the gym and on the court for the last however many years and it’s a nice honor.”
Much of that time in the gym was spent developing his 3-point shot, the main tool in his arsenal. Sullivan said during the summer he often shoots 250 3-pointers every other day to build up muscle memory.
That shooting skill doesn’t just help Sullivan.
“Since I can shoot the ball, that’s not going to just get me open, but also my teammates,” Sullivan said. “It’ll create driving lanes for them, and it’ll space the floor out better for everybody on the team.”
Senior Jerry Coble said having a player like Sullivan on the team makes everybody’s job easier.
“It makes it pretty easy when you have a guy that can score from anywhere,” Coble said. “Just give him the ball, let him work.”
For Sullivan, his teammates are the key piece who help keep him going as a player. He said his teammates’ friendship off the court is key to their connectivity on the court.
“On the court, definitely, I mean, we feed off each other’s energy,” Sullivan said. “If somebody’s head has fallen down, I’ll tell him to pick it up. And if mine is falling down, they’ll tell me to pick my head up.”
Sullivan started playing basketball when he was around 5 years old but considered himself a football player primarily for most of the time growing up. In middle school, he made the full switch to basketball.
He said his time playing football helped him learn how to play through contact and score tough points underneath the basket.
“It kind of hurt not to play but, you know, I just wanted to focus on what I feel like I’d be more successful at,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said his dad was a key role model for him. They would watch basketball together, where he tried to pick up on some skills from players like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
Now, Sullivan finds himself savoring his last few games in high school. He said he hopes the team can continue to have fun and string together some wins as they head into post-season play. He hopes to continue playing basketball at the college level but doesn’t yet know where.
“Sub-state is coming up real quick,” Sullivan said. “I mean, the season went by in a flash, at least that’s what it feels like. But I think we really just need to lock in.”
Sullivan’s recognition came after the Cardinal’s blowout win over Veritas Monday night.
After a slow first two minutes, the Cardinals jumped ahead and didn’t look back on their way to a 73-31 win.
The blowout saw almost the entire Cardinals varsity squad on the floor at some point, with 12 players scoring.
“There’s a lot of those guys that work their tail off in practice every day and sometimes they don’t get rewarded with playing many minutes in the games,” Deterding said. “So, it’s nice that those guys got some time tonight.”
The game started in a battle, with Veritas coming out and hitting some big shots early. With just under four minutes played, the game was tied at 6. But Eudora responded with a 21-3 run over the next eight minutes to build a 16-point lead.
After that, it was all Cardinals.
“You can see the bench guys getting hyped, you can see the starters, when they came out, getting hyped and it just brings the morale up,” Coble said.
Sullivan led the Cardinals with 22 points. Junior Caden Stedry scored 11 and Coble splashed in a trio of second-half 3-pointers for 9 points.
The team will now head on the road for the next five games, a stretch Deterding said will test the team as they head toward the post-season.
“We just have to compete,” he said. “When we show up and compete, like that energy and effort, we can compete with some decent, good teams. But when we don’t show up with energy and effort then we struggle.”
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
If you appreciate our sports coverage, please donate. Our newspaper depends on your donations to provide coverage of Eudora and continue providing local news.
To donate to support our community journalism, please go to this link: tinyurl.com/y4u7stxj
